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Recovery, How important is it?
We hear all of the time about training but what about recovery. Is it a good idea to workout every day? Well, that depends on the intensity of your workouts. Your body needs to recover! Recovery is when all of the magic happens. When you workout your muscles are actually tearing a little, during recovery is when they repair and get stronger. If you never recover, well they just keep tearing and that is when injury happens!
So how do you recover? Here are a few ideas for you:
1/ Stay hydrated. Try to drink at least ½ of your body weight in ounces of water a day. So if you are a 130 lb person, then shoot for 65 ounces of water. You can put lemon, lime, cucumber, herbal tea, strawberries or mix and match for a yummy drink.
2/ Sleep. Don’t skimp on your sleep and then play “catch up” on the weekends. The body doesn’t work that way. Try to get 7 – 8 quality hours of sleep a night. Turn off the electronics and relax or foam roll before bed. If you are having problems sleeping all night long, ask yourself why? Are you on your computer until bed time? Are you relaxed? Are you eating sugar too late at night?
3/ Plan recovery days. Your muscles need time off. Running or working out every day is not a good idea. A good idea is cross training. This could include doing yoga, taking a walk , mixing up your workouts or just resting!
4/ Breathing correctly. Learn how to deep breath. That means your belly should rise when you breath, not your chest. If you are chest breathing then your body is not getting the amount of oxygen that it needs. With deep breathing you get rid of the carbon dioxide toxins and get more clean oxygen that your body needs to repair. Not to mention it will lower your blood pressure and help you think better!
5/ Roll out BEFORE your workout. Get a foam roller! It is essential to getting the circulation flowing and the knots out BEFORE your workout or first thing in the morning. Roll out your feet with a small ball, your legs and your back with a foam roller. You wouldn’t stretch a knot out so don’t think you are going to stretch the knots out of your body, rolling will! Watch the demo video HERE.
6/ Stretch AFTER your workout. Stretching warm muscles will make a huge difference. You can do a few dynamic stretches before you workout but you will get a lot better stretches once you are warm. Make sure you hold the stretch and relax. You should EXHALE on the stretch and relax the muscle for a more effective stretch. Never hold your breath while stretching.
7/ Nutrition. You can’t outwork a bad diet! Clean carbohydrates before your workout will give you the energy that you need. Think fruit, grains, PB & J, oatmeal, or even a sweet potato will do the trick! Afterwards it is important to have complex carbs and protein to repair the damaged muscles. A protein drink is perfect because it will hydrate you and help you to repair. I like mixing protein powder with fruit and some healthy fat like chia seeds or flax oil. But even a healthy burrito or taco will work. Lots of carbs, fat and protein in those!
8/ Electrolytes: If you are sweating and only drinking water, your body will be depleted of important electrolytes like sodium and/or potassium. This may cause dizziness or cramping. You can use many of the commercial electrolyte pills or you can put some Himalayan Pink salt in some water and drink it down. You can also try nature’s electrolyte drink: coconut water.
9/ Epson Salt Bath: when you want to relieve tired, achy muscles nothing is better than soak in a warm Epson salt bath. The magnesium will get into your muscles and relax them plus decrease inflammation. Plus it is a good time to RELAX!!
10/ Compression clothes: compression socks are gaining in popularity. Some people like running in them while others just wear them after a run or workout to increased the circulation. This helps in a faster recovery.
11/ Alternating heat/cold on areas that hurt ( improves blood flow) when you roller the area and it hurts, that’s the spot to apply the ice/hot pack. Only 15 min is needed to get the inflammatory toxins flushed out with good blood.
Recovery is just as important as the workout so don’t skip it! What do you do for recovery? What is your favorite recovery food? Drink? Practice? Share with us so we can get some new ideas!
